Personal Statement

Hi, my name is Anne Backlund and I would like to introduce myself! I am 17 years old and a Senior at Mayo HS (Rochester, MN, home of the world famous Mayo Clinic). I play varsity soccer for Mayo HS. I played on the JV team in 8th grade and have been on the varsity team member since 9th grade. I became a starter as a sophomore and was named a co-captian my junior year. I was captain again for my senior season. I was voted MVP for the 2012 season and also received the team "Will to Win" award. I was named first team All-Conference and also selected as a Conference Scholar Athlete. We play in the Big 9 conference, in Section 1, the largest schools in Southern MN. Our non-conference schedule includes many of the largest/highest ranked teams in the state from the Minneapolis/St Paul area. I often get matched up against some of the best players in the state. I attend one or more soccer camps with college coaches in the summer. I also train in the winter and play indoor soccer league. I am also a captain on our club team. Our club team plays C1 (highest tier in the district) and competes against the top level teams in the state and region. We finished 3rd in the state. I was the 2nd leading scored on the team. I have tried out for the MN 1995 ODP team two times and have made the team (top ~18) both times (1.5 hour one way trip for tryouts and practices).

I am a very good student and take my education pretty seriously. I am not 100% decided on my major, but it will likely be something like Pre-Law, Pre-Med, or Engineering/Computer Science. While I am a good student, I do have a lot of friends that are important to me. I am also involved in Ski Club (downhill), Link Crew (peer helper at HS), and Key Club. I am a member of National Honor Society and participate in NHS community acitvities. For example, I was a Salvation Army bell ringer over the holidays.

I also enjoy giving back to the soccer community. I volunteered to be the head coach of a 4th grade girls rec team last spring. I reached out to our club soccer President and asked how I could volunteer. He pointed me towards the rec age group coordinator and that person assigned me to a team in need of a coach. We worked it out so I could coach the 4th graders right before my club team practice on the same field. I learned a lot about working with our club administration, parents, and the kids. I plan to coach again this spring! I also volunteered to be a player representative for a Club soccer competitive commitment meeting. The committee was in the process of revising player commitment guidelines for traveling/club teams. I was asked for my experiences and opinions on the new guidelines.

I plan to consider colleges that are a good match for me academically. I am very passionate about soccer and if that works out also, that would be great! I have a sister that is currently playing college soccer and she has successfully managed academics and soccer. She loves it and I know I would also!

Sports at Mayo High School

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